The invention lies in the field of slaughtering animals in a slaughterhouse. One of the operations during the slaughtering process is the removal of the head of the animal, whereby the gullet is severed. The stomach contents of an animal suspended from the hind legs will hereby move downward through the gullet and could there cause bacteriological infection of meat parts, work-floor and following locations, such as de-boning tables and conveyor belts.
Hygienic slaughter is mandatory in most countries. The possibilities heretofore have however been very limited up to the present. For example the gullet can be at least more or less closed off by means of an elastic ring. A drawback of this known method is that it is time-consuming and does not guarantee a reliable closure of the gullet.
From CH-A-436 009 a plug is known, which is designed to be introduced into the wind pipe of a slaughtered animal. After introducing such prior art plug the wind pipe is sufficiently closed to prevent the entrance of rinsing water.
The prior art plug consists of a plurality of parts and has therefore a rather complicated structure which makes the plug relatively difficult to produce and therefor expensive.
The invention has for its purpose to provide a plug adapted to ensure an effective and rapid closure of the gullet. It is a further purpose of the invention to design a plug in a way such that it can be readily manufactured at low costs.